


A Perfect Swim

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Ficlet, Friendship, Post-Hogwarts, Post-War, The Quidditch Pitch: Leaving Feast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-31
Updated: 2009-07-31
Packaged: 2018-10-27 13:31:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10809990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: A lazy summer afternoon before Hermione returns to Hogwarts for her final year…Ron and Hermione have a relaxing swim in the Burrow’s pond.Written for the Imagination Inspiration Drabble Drive.Inspiration:A Perfect Swim by LilyMWM





	A Perfect Swim

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

Hermione lay back, floating lazily in the cool water and gazing up at the bright blue sky.  Leaf-laden branches peeped into her peripheral vision, edging the blue above her with fluttering green.  The water was wonderfully crisp against her back, and the late afternoon air was warm and only slightly breezy, creating a lovely contrast wherever her skin peeked above the waterline.

 

She tilted her head back slowly.  Her hair fanned out behind her, some of it floating on the surface, and some heavier strands sinking below.  She submerged her ears, letting the coolness rush in and dampen all the sounds around her.  She floated, content in her own little bubble, relishing the fact that with the war _finally_ over, she was truly able to relax like this.

 

She continued floating, drifting with the subtle currents generated by the stream that fed the pond on its far side.  She was just about to close her eyes when she heard someone splash their way into the pond, though for her the sounds were muffled and distorted.

 

She picked up her head enough to see Ron swimming towards her.  By the time he reached her, she was treading water gently.

 

“Hey,” a slow grin spread across his face as he mirrored her actions.  He glanced around.  “Where’re Harry and Ginny?  Thought we were all going for a swim.”

 

“Mmm…Harry decided he fancied a fly first, and Ginny went with him.”

 

A frown crossed Ron’s face, but was quickly gone.  “Oh.”

 

Unsure if that frown had meant that he was upset Harry hadn’t asked him to fly, Hermione suddenly felt wrong-footed.  “I’m sorry,” she blurted.

 

“What?  Why?”  Now Ron looked perplexed.

 

“You didn’t look happy that they’d gone off like that.  If you’d rather go flying, I underst-”

 

“Hermione,” he said gently, reaching one arm out to slide around her waist, “I don’t want to go flying.  Not when they’ve so conveniently given me a chance to be alone with my girl.”

 

“Oh,” she breathed, and let herself float a little closer to him.  This was all still so new, this openness of affection between them.  Sometimes Hermione found herself caught – quite pleasantly – off-guard by it all.  But still, something niggled at her.  “Then why did you make that face?”

 

He sighed.  “ _Because_ , even though I know you can take care of yourself and I know that the war is over, I still worry about you, and they’d left you alone and wandless.”

 

“What makes you so sure I’m wandless?” she teased, reaching up to slip her arms around his neck, an action that pulled her completely into his embrace.  His arms were now all the way around her, and their bodies were flush with one another.  She watched as Ron closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath.

 

“Because,” he sounded a bit hoarse, “as brilliant as you are, and as lovely as that bikini is, there’s no place in it for a wand.  Plus I saw yours on the bank, near the blanket.”

 

By this point, Ron had stopped treading water, having found that they were in a part of the pond where it was shallow enough for him to stand.  He hitched Hermione slightly closer to him, causing her to bounce a little on the buoyant water before re-settling against his chest.

 

“Very clever, Mr. Weasley,” she smiled at him, one corner of her mouth quirking slightly.  She hooked her left leg around his right, anchoring herself a bit better and bringing them as close together as they could possibly be.  They simply stayed there, swaying with the current, holding on to one another, and enjoying the stillness for several long moments.  Finally, Hermione let out a contented sigh.  Her eyes flicked to Ron’s.  “It’s brilliant, isn’t it?”

 

“Mmm,” Ron’s murmured response was a bit distracted, as he seemed to be gazing at her mouth.  “Um, could you be more specific, love?”

 

She laughed softly.  “ _This_ …us…this beautiful day…just being able to simply _be_ …sometimes it hits me like it’s new all over again,” she gazed up at him to find him staring at her with an intensity that made her shiver, “but we have a _future_ now, Ron…sometimes it feels like I can see it spreading out ahead of me and…it takes my breath away.”

 

When she finished, he was still looking at her in that intense way, and, as he lowered his head to kiss her, he breathed, “I know exactly how you feel.”

 


End file.
